feeding 11month old at night

Posted by the goddess kali (107 days ago)

Hi mums,

I weaned my baby off night feeds at 8/9months of age.
Recently we went to europe for three weeks and with the time difference, travel etc he had to nightweaned again twice.
The past two nights he gets up around 3-4am and seems to have difficulty settlind down again.

just wanted to know if other mums breastfeed or give baby a bottle at night. Anyt thouhgts on how to avoid this would also be welcome as my baby is still breastfed and i dont want to go down the slippery route of feeding him at night.
thanks.

(I am based in Other)

Posted by cara (107 days ago)

my baby still gets at least one bottle per night. her brother had one until he was almost 2.

(ps. isn't your little one almost 1 now?)

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Sarah99 (106 days ago)

Our 13 month old boy has a night feed as well. Normal routine is bed about 8pm wakes up around 11pm quick bottle and back to sleep until around 7am. If we manage to get him back to sleep in the evening without a bottle then he will invariably wake up around 5am for a bottle, and then he is very hard to get back to sleep. So we opt for the easier option on us and do the 11pm feed.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Kim11 (106 days ago)

I also weaned my now 10 months daugher off night feeds at 6 months. Then we went to Canada and she was back on them for a few nights when we got back. I did the same thing to wean her off the feeds as before which is basically only go into ther crying when she seemed really upset. Generally she does not have a night feed now although she was up last night! She has a bottle at about 7 then goes to bed around 7:15 and wakes up at about 6:20. She was waking at 5:30 but delaying her night feed until 7 and her breakfast until 7 has changed her wake up time to 6:20. Feeding her at 11pm didnt' seem to make her sleep longer in the morning so I was happy witih a sleep through most of the night utnil after 6.
My son had night feeds until 13 months but I think I could have cut him off earlier. Time changes due to travel take a while to sort out.


Kim

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by the goddess kali (106 days ago)

hi cara, yes my little one is almost a year old....another 10 days to go. Your little girl too (i guess a few days less?) hard to beleive that a year has gone by already!!!
Ok tonight ill try and give him a bottle and keep fingers crossed that he'll take the bottle and not want to be breastfed!
Sarah, i'm also looking for the easier option out. Would love to have good night's sleep. Now i find myself by baies bedside shushing and patting for an hour between 3-4am. So many people (my mum, friends with babies, reatives etc,) told me that it's best not to feed babies at night, and that if you feed him once then he'll expect to be fed every night, and it's jsut a bad habit :((

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by the goddess kali (106 days ago)

kim, i have a major problem with letting baby cry :( i feel so miserable about it that i go running when i hear him crying. 11pm feed doesnt work with mine. it will have to be an early morning bottle.

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by cara (106 days ago)

my girl wakes anywhere between 1-4am for a feed. occasionally she'll have two, but usually one will suffice. then she sleeps right away again until 6-7:30am depending.

i can't let mine cry so much either... she shares a room with big bro and if i let her wail too long, then i've got two of them to deal with... one is so much easier!

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Wheelymate (105 days ago)

after our UK trip in 2006 when bub was 5-6 months old, he took about 2 weeks to adjust. i knew it wasn't about hunger, just the time difference so i refused to give a bottle. i would try to put him down at his usual bedtime, fully expecting him to wake up in the wee hours of the morning. i would then go to his room, lie down on the spare bed next to his cot and veg out until he fell asleep again. i didn't turn the lights on, etc..i wanted him to know it was bedtime, not playtime. and of course he would be super tired in the morning but i would try to get him up at his usual time, start the day again to the best of our abilities...

of course, i am a SAHM so i can afford losing sleep at night for 2 weeks to adjust...but i read from your other posts before that you work so my method might be a tad tricky for you to implement, unless you, hubby and helper are willing to take turns.

good luck!

ps: when i had the same issue in 06, i posted a thread here and got quite a few pointers..you might want to try searching for it.

(I am based in Singapore)

Posted by the goddess kali (103 days ago)

hi cara, did your son just stop waking up for a night bottle by himself or did you have to stop offering him the bottle?
hi wheelymate, i did offer baby a bottle two morning sa go after an hour of shushing and patting that didn't quite work. first day he drank 100ml. geuss he was really hungry as he drank up and fell back asleep. Second day he drank 50 ml. this morning at 10 to 6 he took one look at the bottle and screamed blu murder...and here i was thinking yay!!! i can stop breastfeeding| Otherwisei I was already doing what you suggest, and yes am sleep deprived and finding it hard to work and carry on doing other things as well.
I will have search for your thread. I'm sure there's plenty of helpful advice.

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by cara (103 days ago)

when my son got to about 17 or 18 months and he could understand a lot, but not talk too much, i told a little white lie...

"sorry, honey, no milk tonight, we ran out (all gone). we have to go to park n shop tomorrow to buy some more!"

the next night, i said the same thing. i offered water instead or VERY diluted juice in a sippy cup. he still takes his cup to sleep with him. i figure that i wake throughout the night and am thirsty, he may very well wake because of this too. he woke up a few times at night but after about a week, he slept through. it was great and MUCH easier than i thought it would be. there were virtually no tears.

i don't have the heart for "crying it out". my heart breaks, besides the fact that it keeps EVERYONE in the house awake all night long.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by axptguy38 (103 days ago)

"i don't have the heart for "crying it out". my heart breaks, besides the fact that it keeps EVERYONE in the house awake all night long."

Well, it's simpler if it's only the parents suffering. ;) Also it will never go on all night long.

But hey, if it works for you that's all that is needed. Also as usual your results may vary.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Wheelymate (103 days ago)

hi goddess,

good luck. i found the old thread (just search under jet lag and one of the hits will be the thread i started) and i think i did offer a bottle initially but it didn't work out...

ah well, it's just part and parcel of parenthood that we have to ride out....hang in there, it'll take a couple of weeks but it'll get better.

(I am based in Singapore)